Mother of all debuts for Riders' Ruth

Jason Farmer / times-shamrock
RailRiders' Jose Pirela (28) throws over Durham's Hak-Ju Lee to try for a double play during Sunday afternoon's game at PNC Field.

MOOSIC - The opportunity of a lifetime came, rather unexpectedly, at about 12:30 on Sunday morning.

The 23-year-old right-hander who had been awaiting his first appearance at Class A Charleston found out that debut wouldn't be coming on Mother's Day. He'd be heading north.

So at 6 a.m., Eric Ruth boarded a plane to Philadelphia. And by 11:30, the youngster who said he is distantly related to The Babe, was pulling into PNC Field in a town car that suffered a flat on the way up the Northeast Extension.

At 4 p.m., he sat in front of a locker in the RailRiders' clubhouse, awestruck and out of breath, still wearing the uniform he wore as he fought his way through the potent Durham batting order as his parents watched.

Not a bad Triple-A debut for the unknown kid with the legend's name. Not a bad result for the RailRiders, either.

Ruth allowed just a run on two hits in five innings, and Zoilo Almonte's RBI single in the 11th inning plated Ramon Flores with the winning run as the RailRiders scored a gritty 2-1 win over the Bulls on a sun-splashed Sunday.

"I wanted to come out and give it my best and show them what I had," Ruth said. "There were nerves early. But I mean, it's the same game just with a different team in a different stadium. Nothing changes with the game."

Offensively, the home team did little with Bulls right-hander Nathan Karns, who gave up just three hits himself in 7â  innings. In fact, after Zelous Wheeler crushed a curveball for a one-out homer into the RailRiders bullpen in left with one out in the second, the RailRiders didn't get a runner in scoring position with less than two outs until they rallied for the win in the 11th.

But Ruth was the story.

With the Yankees placing starter CC Sabathia on the disabled list with a knee issue on Sunday, the big league club had some pitching decisions to make. They called up reliever Matt Daley, but Sunday's scheduled starter Chase Whitley also got pulled from the game, likely in case the Yankees decide they need a long reliever in the upcoming days.

To replace him, the RailRiders got Ruth. A kid who grew up in Harleysville. A 6-foot right-hander who struck out six batters to lead North Penn High School to the 2009 PIAA Class AAAA championship. An underdog who signed with the Yankees last season after a solid career as a swingman at Winthrop University. A pitcher who made just one start among his seven appearances this season at Class A Tampa.

With no scouting report on the Bulls and no time to do much of anything but warm up and take the mound, Ruth gave a RailRiders pitching staff that was taxed by a relentless Durham effort on Saturday night exactly what it needed.

"Giving us five innings was huge for us," manager Dave Miley said. "I had never seen him. Against that club, going five innings giving up one run? You don't know what to expect from a kid just coming in. But for me, that was the highlight of the day."

Shortly before the game, in the calamity of the moves, Miley sat on the dugout bench next to Stump Merrill, the longtime manager and current special assistant in town to watch the team this weekend. And together, they laughed at the idea of actually getting to write the name Ruth onto a lineup card.

Ruth made just one mistake, serving up Cole Figueroa's solo homer on a fastball leading off the top of the fifth inning. The only other hit he allowed was Wilson Betemit's bloop single to left-center with two outs in the first. Ruth walked three and struck out three.

Most of his help came from a RailRiders bullpen that continued to be solid on the homestand. Right-handers Diego Moreno and Mark Montgomery threw four shutout innings to get the RailRiders into the 10th, and Branden Pinder got the win by firing two perfect frames of his own.

But long after he left the game, Ruth remained the story, the catalyst to an unlikely win in a league few thought he'd pitch in.

There he was, though. Dominating. Walking off the mound. Looking up to see his parents, Dan and Elaine, smiling proudly.

They made the hour-and-a-half drive to PNC Field, but that was about it as far as friends and family were concerned, Ruth said.

After all, he never really had time to let anybody else know.

"It was a good Mother's Day gift for my mom," he smiled. "I was going to give her a phone call. But I got to see her in person."

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